The Changing of Seasons
by angelicgenin7
Summary: After the Chunin Exams, all is is quiet in Konoha. Friends become closer, and new relationships develope in the midst of the sudden peaceful aftermath. But how long until something bad happens?
1. Chapter 1

**one**

**S**asuke leaned against a tree silently. The woods were so peaceful, and that was exactly what he needed, peace and quiet. He also needed to get away from Ino, who taken to spying on him recently since things seemed to be relatively quiet, and no one had been assigned any major missions. To Sasuke's surprise, however, Sakura seemed to have become quite distant.

The two of them hadn't spoken in three days, which Sasuke found unusual since Sakura usually spent a majority of her free time pawing at him, constantly attempting to flirt with him. But despite the fact that Sakura was indeed much less annoying this way, Sasuke wasn't sure he liked things better this way. He had become accustomed to Sakura's bothersome ways...

He sort of missed her.

"I'm going to be Hokage one day! The world's greatest Hokage! Believe it!"

The thought entered Sasuke's mind unwelcome. Then another unwanted thought drifted through his mind.

Naruto had his arm around Sakura's waist, who was looking at him as though as he were her greatest treasure.

"I'm going to be Hokage one day," Naruto said, grinning. "Believe it!"

"Oh, Naruto," Sakura cooed quietly. Then she kissed him on the cheek.

"Ugh! No way," Sasuke said, shaking his head.

_Sakura with that loser?_

_No way. Sakura can do way better than him._

Sasuke smiled reassuringly to himself. He was right. Sakura would never go out with him. Not Naruto. She didn't even have a boyfriend, and if she did, it sure as hell wasn't Naruto. She was just busy. Even Sakura had a life that didn't revolve around Sasuke.

"Not much of one, though," Sasuke muttered quietly.

Sakura lay on her bed. She felt sick, and she kept drifting in and out of sleep. She pulled the blanket up to her chin, and groaned quietly.

Sakura had been bedridden with a high fever for three days now. She had to get up, though. She had to at least talk to Sasuke or else he might start to take an interest in Ino. She couldn't let that happen.

_Wait..._Sakura thought, _Sasuke take an interest in Ino?_

_Yeah, right. He thinks she's even more annoying than me. _

Sakura smiled to herself. Sasuke would never go out with Ino. He was much too cool for that, but then...

Sasuke was much too cool to go out with Sakura, too.

"Sakura," Mrs. Haruno said, opening the door to Sakura's bedroom. "I brought you some medicine, sweety."

"Thanks, Mom." Sakura sat up in bed, and took the cup of medicine from her mother.

"You're welcome, dear," Mrs. Haruno told her. "Oh, Naruto stopped by earlier, too."

Sakura stopped in mid-motion with the cup of medicine pressed to her lips. She set the cup down. "Naruto?" she asked her mother.

"Yes," Mrs. Haruno said, picking up the cup, and handing it back to her. "I told him about your fever."

"All right," Sakura said quietly. She drank the medicine, and handed the cup back to her mother.

"I'll bring some dinner up to you later, dear," Mrs. Haruno said, smiling sweetly. She kissed Sakura on the forehead, and left, closing the door behind her.

_Naruto was here..._

Naruto leaned against the wall of the building, feeling bored. Sakura was sick in bed, and Sasuke – the jerk – was no where to be found. Again. He couldn't even pick a fight with Sasuke, but, then again, what was the point?

If Sakura wasn't even there to watch, then there wasn't much of a point.

"Why is it so boring here?!" Naruto exclaimed out of frustration.

"Hello, Naruto," a quiet voice said calmly.

Naruto looked around, and saw Hinata Hyuuga standing at the far end of the alley.

"Oh, hey, Hinata," Naruto smiled. "They let you out of the hospital then?"

"I just got out today," Hinata told him, smiling and blushing at the same time.

_What is with her? _Naruto thought.

'I really admire you, Naruto.'

Hinata's words from their last conversation floated through his mind. Until today, Naruto had completely forgotten about that conversation.

Naruto smiled embarrassedly. "Hey, Hinata."

Hinata looked up at him, blushing, and asked quickly, "Yes, Naruto?"

"Let's go to the park," Naruto told her.

"Yes, all right," Hinata smiled.

Hinata sat down besides Naruto on a bench in the cooling shade of a large oak tree. There was a long silence between the two of them, during which they both examined their fingernails. Then Naruto spoke up at last.

"Hinata, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, I guess," Hinata said quietly.

"What did you mean," Naruto said slowly, "when you told me that you admired me?"

Hinata stared at him for a moment with her mouth open slightly. "That I, uh, admire you," she said truthfully.

"Well, yeah," Naruto said, looking at her, "but how so? Do you want to be like me or–?" His voice trailed away.

Hinata looked away from him. "The thing is..." She began but found that she was unable to finish speaking.

"Yes?" Naruto asked her.

"The thing is, Naruto," Hinata told him, clearing her throat slightly. "I really care about your opinion of me, and I really...I really kind of like you, is all."

"Oh, I see," Naruto said, blushing slightly. "I thought that might have been it ever since Sakura said you were always watching me."

"When did she say that?" Hinata asked him quickly.

"When you were fighting Neji during the Chunin Exams," Naruto told her.

"Oh..."

An awkward silence fell between the two of them, and both of them found it rather difficult to try to speak. But at the same time, neither of them much wanted to speak. The secret was out. Hinata had confessed her feelings for Naruto. She had told him that she liked him. So what happened next?

"Naruto," Hinata said quietly. "You like Sakura Haruno, don't you?"

Naruto looked up at her quickly. "She's all right," he said to her nervously. He didn't want to hurt her feelings after she had just gotten out of the hospital. "But, you know, she's got that thing for Sasuke."

Hinata nodded. "And you want her to be your girlfriend?"

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but then thought better of it, and closed it again. How could he tell her something that was so hard to explain?

"Well," Naruto said at long last. "I've been thinking about it, and I like her..."

Hinata nodded patiently. She wasn't going to pressure to him. She just wanted to know how he felt.

"But more as a friend than anything else," Naruto continued quietly. "I think that she and I are more like close friends, and I kinda think that things are better that way. I mean, it would be kinda weird if we started going out after everything we've been through, huh?" He laughed quietly.

"And how," Hinata said calmly. "How do you feel about me?"

Naruto's smile faded, only to be replaced by an expression of deepest concern. He really didn't want to hurt her feelings. "That's kinda hard to explain, Hinata," he told her sadly. He sighed heavily.

"How so?" Hinata asked him.

"Well, I don't really know you all that well," Naruto said truthfully. "I mean, you're so quiet...I only ever really considered you an acquaintance."

"But if you knew me better–" Hinata said but was cut off by Naruto.

"If I knew you better, I could tell you how I felt, but right now...I just don't know how to feel about you."

Hinata nodded.

Naruto watched carefully for signs of hurt, but to his surprise, he couldn't find any. It was just then that realized how pretty Hinata looked. She was wearing a powder-blue sweater, and a white miniskirt. Naruto was pretty sure it was the first time he had ever seen her wear anything close to a dress.

"Naruto," Hinata said suddenly, quietly.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked, looking up at her.

"Would you like to get to know me better?" Hinata asked quickly.

Naruto smiled at her. "Yeah, I would, Hinata."

Hinata smiled as warm, pearly white tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Hey, why are you crying?" Naruto asked, feeling slightly alarmed.

"Thank you, Naruto," Hinata whispered, wiping the tears off her cheeks with her sleeve.

Naruto stared at her, shocked and unable to speak. He didn't know what to say.

"Thank you for being honest with me," Hinata said, smiling at him. "I was afraid that you would lie to me, so that you wouldn't hurt my feelings, but you didn't lie. That really means a lot to me, so thank you."

Naruto grinned at her. "You're welcome, Hinata."


	2. Chapter 2

1**two**

**S**akura sat up in bed silently, slowly. Her whole body hurt, and she could hear her heart pounding in the back of her head. She ran her fingers through her hair, and yawned quietly.

"Sakura?"

Sakura looked up to see her mother standing in her doorway.

"I take this means you're feeling better, then, Sakura dear," Mrs. Haruno said, smiling. She crossed the room to Sakura's bed, and sat down on it.

"I guess I feel better," Sakura said quietly. "Everything hurts, though."

"That'll just be the after-effect of the fever, sweetheart," Mrs. Haruno told her. "Your body is tired from fighting the fever. Let me take your temperature."

"Mmm-hmm." Sakura took the thermometer from her mother, and put it under her tongue. She hated this part. She always felt like she was going to gag on the thermometer.

"Ninety-eight point six," Mrs. Haruno said two minutes. "Perfect. Why don't you get dressed, and come down for breakfast since you're all better."

"Actually," Sakura said quietly. "Actually I..." Her voice trailed off.

_I can go to talk out, and find Sasuke since I'm all better now_, Sakura thought. _Maybe he won't want to talk me, though..._

"Yes, dear?" Mrs. Haruno said, staring at her. "What is it?"

Sakura looked up at her, and smiled. "I think I'll go out for breakfast this morning."

"Oh, all right," Mrs. Haruno said, her smile fading.

Sakura pointed to her open bedroom door. "Out, please," she instructed her mother.

Mrs. Haruno left silently.

Sakura sat in her bed silently. Sasuke never wanted to talk to her, so that wouldn't really change anything if she did find him. But maybe...Maybe today...

_Maybe today he'll want to talk to me._

"Anything is possible," Sakura told herself, smiling. She got out of bed, and showered, and dressed quickly.

The morning sunshine greeted Sakura as she stepped out of her house. She looked up at the bright blue sky, smiling. It felt so good to be outside after being trapped in her for three days. She laughed quietly to herself.

"Where have you been?" a voice demanded angrily of her.

Sakura looked around, and saw Sasuke leaning against the oak tree in her front yard. She felt her face burning bright red. She bit her lower lip to suppress her excitement. What was Sasuke Uchiha doing at her house?

"Well?" Sasuke said, glaring at her. "What happened to you? Where have you been for the past three days?"

"Oh, I was," Sakura said, smiling at him. "I was sick in bed. With a high fever, so I couldn't really come out much."

Sasuke looked at inquisitively. "But you're better now, right?"

"Yeah," Sakura told him, feeling puzzled. Had he actually been worried about her?

"Hn," Sasuke said quietly. "Let's go find Naruto."

He walked out of the front gate, and Sakura followed close behind him.

"Naruto?" she asked him. "What for?"

Sasuke glared at her. "For training. I haven't been able to find the loser for three days, so I've had no one to spar against."

"Oh, I see," she said disappointedly. She had been hoping to spend some time alone with Sasuke. "Well, if you're just looking for Naruto to spar with, how come I have to go with you?"

"You could use the training," Sasuke told her. He put his hands behind his head, and continued to walk ahead of her.

"Training?"

Sasuke stopped, and turned to look at her. "Look," he told her, feeling irritated. "You good at remembering facts, and stuff, but you're a bad fighter, and you need to get better at it. You'll never become a Chunin if you don't, you know."

The two of them stared at each other silently. Sakura could feel her face burning again, and she knew she should stop staring at Sasuke. She knew he wouldn't like it, but she couldn't bring herself to look away no matter how hard he glared at her. She cleared her throat quietly.

"Sasuke," Sakura said, turning her gaze to her feet. "Do you actually want me to become a Chunin?"

"Huh?" Sasuke gasped quietly.

Sakura looked up at him. He didn't look angry anymore. He looked surprised. Surprised at what, though? Her question?

_What does she mean, do I _actually _want her to become a Chunin? _Sasuke thought angrily. _Can't she figure out the answer to that on her own? How stupid is she?_

"Forget it," Sakura said suddenly.

Sasuke looked up at her. "What?" he asked her. "Don't you want me to answer your question?"

"It isn't a big deal," Sakura told him. "Let's go find Naruto."

Sasuke scowled. "Whatever."

"Hey, come on, Hinata," Naruto said over his shoulder. "I want to get to the forest before noon."

Hinata looked at him silently. She had been trailing along behind him for a while now, and Naruto was beginning to find it annoying. Couldn't she just walk beside him?

"I'm sorry, Naruto," Hinata said, looking at the ground. "I guess I'm just a bit nervous."

"What for?" Naruto asked her.

Hinata looked up at him. "Oh...I...uh...I don't really know..." Her voice trailed off.

"Well, that doesn't make any sense." Naruto walked over her. "You have to have a reason for being nervous, Hinata."

Hinata nodded silently.

They both knew the reason why she was nervous, but Naruto didn't want to say it himself. He wanted Hinata to say, so that she would stop being so embarrassed, and fidgety around him. It made him feel like she was afraid of him or something. It wasn't a nice feeling. Naruto sighed.

She wasn't going to say it. She had said it once, but she wouldn't say it again.

"Look, Hinata," Naruto said at last. "It would be a lot easier for me to hang out with you if you were just a little more confident."

"Confident?" Hinata asked, looking at him.

"Yeah," Naruto told her, smiling. "I mean, being confident is what makes people stronger. Well part of it anyway."

"So," Hinata said slowly, "the more confident you are..."

"The stronger you are," Naruto supplied, grinning at her. He laughed quietly.

"What?" Hinata asked, shocked. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Naruto told her. "I'm just really proud of you. You've changed a lot, Hinata, and you're getting stronger because you're changing now. Pretty soon, you won't be that girl you were at the Chunin Exams."

"I won't?" Hinata asked him.

"Nope," Naruto said, laughing. "You'll be a better, and stronger Hinata Hyuuga! Believe it!" He threw his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her into a one-armed hug.

Hinata smiled, and burst out laughing. "Yeah," she shouted at the top of her lungs. "I'm going to get stronger, and then one day I'm going to be as strong as you are, Naruto!"

"Yeah," Naruto said, grinning at her. "That's right, Hinata! We're both going to get stronger and stronger."

"That's right," Hinata agreed, laughing.

Naruto smiled at her. He had never seen her this happy before. Hinata really was changing. He could feel it. She was coming out of her shell at long last, and pretty soon, everyone would know her. The real Hinata. He could feel it.

"Let's go train, Hinata," Naruto said quietly.

Hinata smiled, and nodded in agreement silently.

"I can't believe it," Sasuke said, punching the wall of a building. "We've been searching for hours, and we still haven't found Naruto."

"Is sparing with Naruto really all that important?" Sakura asked quietly.

"I'm going to be the world's greatest Hokage one day! Believe it!"

Naruto had his arm around Sakura's waist, and Sakura was staring at him as though he were a great treasure.

"Oh, Naruto," Sakura said admiringly. She kissed him on the cheek.

The thought floated through Sasuke's mind. It was a thought he hated, and despised above all else. He could never hate anything more than he hated that disgusting thought. He turned to face Sakura, who looked back at him, puzzled.

"Did you see Naruto at all when you were sick?" Sasuke asked her aggressively.

"He stopped by my house once," Sakura told him.

"What?!" Sasuke said, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Did he do anything to you?"

"I didn't even talk to him," Sakura said, pulling out of his grip. "Calm down, Sasuke."

"I can't calm down," Sasuke told her. He was struggling to keep his temper, struggling not to grab the first thing he saw, and smash it in two. "All I want to do is beat that little creep to a bloody pulp. I swear, if I find out he did anything to you, I'll make him wish he was never born. I'll kill him!"

Sakura stared at him silently. They had been looking for Naruto for a little more than two hours, and Sasuke had been acting strangely all morning. He had been nothing at first, but as the morning went on, Sakura noticed that he had become more and more frustrated. He kept glancing at her. Then after a while, he allowed her to fall in step with him, which was something he would normally never let her do. He usually preferred to walk ahead of her. What was wrong with him today?

"Sasuke," Sakura said slowly. "I don't understand...Why are you acting this way?"

Sasuke looked at her. "Look," he said, panting slightly. "I just think I need some time alone. I need some time to cool off a bit."

Sakura nodded. "Uh-huh."

"We'll hang out tomorrow," Sasuke told her.

Sakura looked up at him. "What?"

"I said we'll hang out tomorrow," Sasuke said, glaring at her. He was trying his hardest not to feel angry at her, but that was proving difficult at the moment. "Just you and me. To make for today."

"But I thought you wanted to train," Sakura said, feeling confused. Sasuke wanted to hang out with her? Just him and her?

"Look, do you want to hang out tomorrow or not?!" Sasuke asked angrily. Why couldn't she agree to the stupid date? She was always flirting with him before, so why not now?

"Yeah, okay," Sakura said, nodding.

"Good," Sasuke panted. "Sorry for yelling at you."

Sakura nodded her head silently.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," Sasuke told her.

Sakura watched him walk down the sidewalk silently, and as he turned the corner, Ino stepped out in front of him, blushing and smiling.

"Oh, hey, Sasuke," Ino greeted him, laughing.

"Get out of my way," Sasuke said, purposely bumping into her as he walked past.

Sakura sat down on a nearby bench, and Ino sat down beside her, rubbing her arm. Sakura felt dazed, confused, and unsure of what she had just agreed to. Then the thought finally settled in her mind, and feeling of ultimate disbelief wash over her.

"What's his problem?" Ino said, still rubbing her arm. She looked at Sakura, and noticed her dazed expression. "Hello?"

"I have," Sakura said slowly. "I have a date with Sasuke...Tomorrow."

"What?!" Ino said, feeling shocked. "No way!"

Sakura looked at her, and nodded silently.

"You're lying, aren't you?" Ino asked her, flaring up at once. "You're just making this up to make jealous!"

"No, I'm not," Sakura said calmly, staring at her fingernails. "He was so angry when he asked me. He didn't even really ask me, though."

"He either asked you or he didn't ask you," Ino told her. She glared at her. "If you aren't making this up."

"He tried to tell me at first that we were hanging out tomorrow," Sakura said, ignoring Ino's last comment. "He was telling me like he was in charge, and what he says goes, and that we were hanging out tomorrow because he said we were."

"Oh, wow," Ino said quietly. "That does sound like the kind of thing he would do if he were in a really bad mood."

"He was," Sakura told her. "He was furious. He said that if he found out Naruto had done anything to me, that he was going to kill Naruto."

"It sounds like he really likes you," Ino said in a defeated tone.

Sakura looked at her. "It does?"

"Well, yeah," Ino said. "He was obviously jealous of Naruto for some reason...But you didn't really let him tell you what to do, did you?"

"Oh, well," Sakura said, smiling embarrassedly. "I asked him if he still wanted to train because he had come to my house to get me, and said he wanted to train with Naruto and me. Then he completely flipped out, and screamed at me, asking me if I wanted to hang out tomorrow or not."

"And you said yes, right?" Ino asked her.

"Yeah, I said yes," Sakura said, looking at her. "Then he apologized for yelling at me, and left."

"I can't believe you're going out with Sasuke," Ino said quietly.

Sakura looked at her. "You liked him, too, right?"

"Yeah," Ino told her. "But I guess it was really a crush more than anything else, which is really weird."

"Weird?" Sakura asked her.

"Yeah," Ino said, nodding. "Because I've got this pain inside like my heart has just been ripped out, and nothing can ever make that pain go away..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes filled with tears that streamed down her cheeks when she tried to blink them away.

Sakura stared at her. She had never seen Ino cry before. Ino had always seemed very strong to her, but to see her crying like that...

She felt bad, like she had done something wrong, but Sakura knew that it wasn't her fault that Sasuke had asked her out, and not Ino. It wasn't anyone's fault, really. So why did Sakura feel like she was the one to be blamed?

"I'm sorry, Ino," Sakura said sadly. She reached out to touch her, but found that she couldn't.

"Just go away," Ino told her, glaring at her.

"Ino, I didn't –"Sakura began.

"Shut up!" Ino yelled at her. She stood, and pointed towards the sidewalk. "Just shut up, and go away, Sakura!"

"Ino," Sakura said, smiling sadly.

Ino stared at her silently, then ran away down the sidewalk as fast as she could.


	3. Chapter 3

1**three**

**S**asuke stepped inside the shade of the forest. He had wasted a whole morning just looking for Naruto, and with Sakura. What was worse, he set a date with Sakura, and now felt that he needed to break something. But he couldn't do that, so he would train until he was too tired to feel angry anymore.

"Come on, Hinata. We've been here for three hours already."

Sasuke turned, and saw Naruto stepping out from behind a clump bushes with Hinata Hyuuga following close behind him.

"This is where you've been?" Sasuke demanded, pointing at Naruto. "With her?"

Naruto looked up at him. "Oh, hey, Sasuke," he said, smiling at him.

"Hello," Hinata said quietly.

Sasuke glared at her. "Hinata," he said, shaking his head, "are you actually going out with this loser?"

Hinata blushed deeply, and opened her mouth to speak, but Naruto answered for her, his smile fading as he spoke.

"We were just hanging out. What's your problem?"

"Is it true that you went to visit Sakura when she was sick?" Sasuke asked, looking at him.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Sasuke turned gaze towards the ground, and said, "Did you do anything to her?"

"What do you mean, did I do anything to her?" Naruto asked him.

Hinata stood silently, looking from Naruto to Sasuke and back again. She didn't understand what was happening. Why was Sasuke so angry?

"Answer the question, Naruto," Sasuke said, glaring at him. He kept one hand in his pocket, closed around the kunai he was hiding.

"I didn't do anything to her," Naruto told him. "I didn't even get to talk to her."

Sasuke stared at him silently, searching his features for signs of deceit. No dilated pupils. No nervous expression. If anything, Naruto looked almost as angry as he himself did. Naruto was telling the truth.

"Good," Sasuke muttered quietly.

"Whatever," Naruto said calmly. "Come on, Hinata, let's go do something else."

Hinata nodded, and glanced at Sasuke quickly. "See you later, Sasuke."

Sasuke said nothing as he listened to her footsteps becoming more and more distant. Then when he knew that she and Naruto were both gone, he almost smiled. He returned the kunai to its holster.

_Naruto and Hinata?_

Ino sat on a stool in front of her family's flower shop. It had been hours since she had spoken to Sakura about Sasuke, and her tears had long since dried. Her expression, however, was still very pained, and fearful. Sasuke's development of feelings for Sakura had changed everything. Ino had always planned on dating Sasuke, and then marrying him. What would happen now?

"Hey," a voice said quietly.

Ino looked up silently, and saw her teammates Shikamaru and Choji standing in front of her.

"Hello," Ino said quietly.

"What's her problem?" Choji asked Shikamaru through a mouthful of potato chips.

Shikamaru did not answer him. Instead he surveyed Ino for a moment, and said in an annoyed voice, "What have you been crying about?"

Ino scowled at him. "I haven't been crying."

Shikamaru sighed. "Look," he said to her, "there's no point in crying just because a guy that you like doesn't like you back. Crying won't make him like you anymore than more he already does, and if he starts going out with after he sees you crying, then he doesn't like you. It just means he feels sorry for you, so he isn't really worth your time."

"I know all that stuff already," Ino lied quickly.

"Right," Shikamaru said calmly. "Then you can come with us."

"For what?" Ino asked him.

"Training," Choji told her.

Ino nodded, and stood up silently.

"This is such a drag," Shikamaru said quietly as they set off down the sidewalk.

Sakura sat on her bed silently. She had already decided what to do. She would cancel her date with Sasuke. That's exactly what she would do.

_But why should I? _

_Because I feel sorry for Ino?_

That didn't make any sense, though. Why should Sakura have to cancel her date just because Ino was upset?

She shouldn't have to because it wasn't her fault that Sasuke liked her, and not Ino. She had never told Sasuke to start liking her – even though she had always wanted him to. Sakura never forced Sasuke to like her, either. It was his choice, emotionally, no one else's, and it definitely wasn't her fault. Besides, Ino didn't really...

_She doesn't really love Sasuke. She had said so herself._

'Yeah but I guess it was really a crush more than anything else...'

_A crush. She never said she loved him. She can find someone else to love..._

Sakura smiled to herself silently. She had a date with Sasuke, which meant that she would have to pick out an outfit to wear. Quick. Ino would get over Sasuke eventually.


End file.
